In the March episode of Better Being Me’s podcast Talking Twaddle, host Joanne Hatchard and guest Leah Smolarek get psychological!

Leah talks about her Clinical PhD in Psychology, and attending a recent symposium and conference.  Her research area being self-compassion and pro-social behaviour.  Leah touches on her ADHD being of benefit when studying a topic she really loves, but then unpacks that it did lead to her approach to assignments being problematic throughout her studies.  Knowing about her ADHD over the past year or so has given her a different perspective.

Both Joanne and Leah discuss how their home lives were so supportive, that their neurodivergence was only “exposed” (so to speak) once they tried to live independently.  While they both have brilliant minds and are amazing at some things, the looking after themselves part didn’t come quite as naturally.  Joanne reflects that she came to terms with this, and refers to her “it’s OK to be shit at stuff” song that she has shared on her socials.

The complexities of masking are covered, and that fact that just simply telling people to unmask isn’t the full story.  There is more underlying this, like working out your core values.  Leah explores that you can’t just completely unmask and use it as an excuse to be an asshole, and that sometimes masking can be used to keep us safe.

Leah reflects on growing up in a family of people who are most likely neurodivergent, and attracting friends that are also neurodivergent, and therefore not necessarily knowing that our behaviour is different.  But that finding community and support, and “comparing notes” with others helps leads us to self compassion.

Balancing strengths and weaknesses with others, combining bottom up and top down approaches in therapy, deficit-focused vs strength-based approaches, and neurodivergent parenting of a neurodivergent child are also covered, among other interesting topics!

Leah you can find on social media

IG: https://instagram.com/bumblebee_yoga

FB: https://www.facebook.com/BumblebeeYoga

email: [email protected]

website: bumblebeeyoga.com.au